Seoul regrets its drills with US forced Pyongyang to cancel intra-Korean talks

South Korea has accused its northern neighbor of undermining the spirit of reconciliation after Pyongyang abruptly called off Wednesdays high-level intra-Korean meeting in protest over joint US-S. Korean military drills.

“It is regrettable that the Norths unilateral move to postpone the high-level inter-Korean talks, citing the annual South Korea-US air drills does not conform with the spirit and purpose of the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries,” the unification ministry said in a statement cited by news agency Yonhap.

South Korea urged Pyongyang to return to the negotiations table, stressing that Seoul remains “strongly committed” to the so-called Panmunjom Declaration, adopted during the historic summit of Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in on April 27.